Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/996797
102 ISLAND CREEK OYSTER BAR Burlington Island Creek is an oyster legend, having origi- nated as an oyster farm in Duxbury in 1992. e Burlington Island Creek Oyster Bar is a recent addition to the bivalve empire, which runs three other well-regarded restaurants in Boston, Cambridge, and Portsmouth. e restaurant feels fresh and open, with a large picture window looking in on its walk-in fish cooler as well as huge windows looking outside. Start, of course, with oysters; there are around a dozen fresh daily from up and down the East Coast—including Island Creek, of course—and some notable northwest oysters on offer at times. e menu gives seafood lovers a wide range of choices, offering everything from crudo to steamed mussels, clams, and an impres- sive daily array of fresh fish. It's hard to make a wrong choice, but we recommend you strongly consider including a crispy oyster slider in your order. Open daily from 11:30 a.m. until 10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. 300 District Ave., Burlington 781-761-6500, islandcreekoysterbar.com SEAPORT GRILLE Gloucester is year-round waterfront eatery hums with the vibe of a classic New England seafood restau- rant, not too formal to have a good time and not so relaxed that the quality of food or service gets short shrift. e fried clams won Readers' Choice for Best of the North Shore last year. e menu is strong on pasta-based seafood, including lob- ster mac 'n' cheese with fresh lobster, cheddar, and toasted crumbs, and salmon scampi with spinach and linguini, finished with a white wine butter sauce. Seaport Grille also does a great job with the lobster roll, offering plentiful meat that's nicely flavored and avoiding the common pitfall of using too much dressing or over-but- tering the roll. Open from 11:30 a.m. daily until 9 p.m. Sunday-Wednesday and 10 p.m. Thursday-Saturday. 6 Rowe Square, Gloucester 978-282-9799, seaportgrillegloucester.com Clams from Island Creek Oyster Bar. Opposite page, Seaport Grille's cioppino or fish stew. PHOTOGRAPHS BY, LEFT TO RIGHT, BRIAN DEMELLO, SCOTT GOODWIN